Thursday, January 31, 2013

Build Apartments and have Kids in Kairosoft’s Dream House Days for Android

Build Apartments and have Kids in Kairosoft’s Dream House Days for Android

Kairosoft finally dropped another Android game today and it goes by the name of Dream House Days. Yup, you can now build your own housing complex in true Kairosoft style!

Dream House Days is a “housing” sim that lets you play the landlord where you’ll have to manage apartments, bring in new tenants, and keep them happy. Starting out you’ll work to decorate your apartments to raise their stats before putting out flyers to let new tenants see the place. Once you lock down potential tenants they’ll pay rent and you can use that rent money to expand and upgrade your housing empire. That’s just half the game though. Your tenants all different skills; some go to college while others party or just work regular jobs. You can setup your apartments to boost your tenant’s attributes by making them smarter o r more attractive. The second part is pretty important if you want them to have get married and have kids… yup your Kairosoft people can now have kids and when those kids grow up and move out you can even lure into a new pad with real estate listings. Needless to say there’s a lot going on in Dream House Days.

I have been dying to get my hands on Kairosoft’s Horse Racing Sim, and had totally forgotten about Dream House Days to be honest. After destroying my battery life (and my sleep) last night I’m glad I found it as Dream House Days has turned out to be on of Kairosoft’s better games.  All their games are rock solid don’t get me wrong, but some are better than others. Dream House Days is free to download, but ad-supported although they can be removed with a simple in-app purchase of $ 3.99. If you’re ready to kill the rest of your day you can pick up Kairosoft’s Dream House Days on Google Play.

Dream House Days

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Rumor: HTC M7 to go on sale in early March, new color option revealed

Rumor: HTC M7 to go on sale in early March, new color option revealed

There’s no doubt that the new BlackBerry family of phones and BB10 are getting a lot of attention right now, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some Android news as well. HTC has announced that they will be hosting press events in London and New York on February 19 where we expect they will unveil the HTC M7. New details from one of our sources reveal that the HTC M7?s retail launch is currently scheduled for early March.

Our source claims that the HTC M7 will go on sale on March 8. No carrier details or launch partners have been revealed, but the device is expected to hit the UK and Europe before we see it here in the US. So far, we’ve seen evidence that the HTC M7 will be sold by Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, but we have a suspicion that T-Mobile will carry the HTC M7 as well.

The last few HTC M7 leaks have shown off a black device, but our source claims that HTC is also working on a silver/white variant of the M7. While all the pictures we have seen portray a rubberized, black HTC M7, initial rumors suggested that the phone would feature an aluminum casing similar to the HTC One S and One V. A silver/white HTC M7 in an aluminum casing would most likely resemble a cross breed of the white HTC EVO 4G LTE and the white HTC Butterfly.

If the HTC M7 does go on sale on March 8, it will give HTC a much needed head start in competing with Samsung’s next flagship Android device. We’re sure the device on its own will stand up to anything Samsung is able to put out this year, but HTC should seize any advantage they can get their hands on.

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Google Play Music and Google+ Android apps updated with new, cool features

Google Play Music and Google+ Android apps updated with new, cool features

google plus android app

Alright, for those of you who are solid Google fans who are using most of the mobile apps that Google has put out on the Google Play store, you’ve got a couple of apps due for update now. These are the Google Play Music and Google+ Android apps. Both updates to these two apps are free and available now if you fire up Google Play app on your Android devices.

For Google+, the update brings in support for adding a link to a post you are creating. There’s also a new notification try and additional community moderation features. Unfortunately, Google did not list down these communication features so just have to find out what these by yourself. And you can do that by updating Google+ on your Android devices.

Meanwhile for the Google Play Music app, the update will enable instant mixes to continue beyond 25 tracks. The Google Play Music widget was also given an update, specifically adding the previous track button. Honestly, I’ve never noticed that this button was missing before but for those of you who’ve missed this, well Google is giving it to you now.

Google Music Play Android app

Another new feature is the new default album art as well as the ability to see the progress of downloading an album and playlist pages when you pin an album to keep on your Android device.  Finally for Samsung Galaxy S3 users who have experienced freezing of the app before, well that bug is now fixed with this update.

So there you go, hit the Google Play links below to get both these updates to the Google Play Music and Google Plus Android apps, now.

[Google Play Music], [Google +]

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , ,

Posted by at No comments:

The 10-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Plus Benchmarks pop-up Online

The 10-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Plus Benchmarks pop-up Online

It’s rumor season again and today brings us more rumors regarding Samsung’s new Tablet lineup, specifically the Galaxy Tab 3 Plus or the GT-P8200 if you prefer. We’ve already heard that Sammy is bringing a slew of new tablets to market this year as the tablet wars heat up and the big trade shows get ready for action. The question remains are we getting more mediocre tablets or are we finally going to get a tab worthy of the Galaxy name?Rumors have been flying around the web for days now about the upcoming Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Tabs; today is no different. AnTuTu benchmarks for the Galaxy Tab 3 Plus have popped up and it appears to be running a 1.7. GHz dual-core Exnyos 5 chip. As you can see from the pic the Galaxy Tab Plus came in at 13,377 and it’s being reported that the 10 inch display will feature a resolution of 2560×1600. Basically the same specs as the Nexus 10 from what we’ve heard so far.

Everyone expects the new lineup of Galaxy Tabs including the Galaxy Tab Plus to debut during MWC at the end of February which is great news for fans of Samsung. Personally, I’ve been a little let down by Sammy in the tablet department although I’ve owned every Galaxy S phone they’ve put out thus far. If they could make a tablet as great as the Galaxy S3 we’d really have something to be excited about. We’ll keep you informed as we learn more about the Galaxy Tab Plus in the coming weeks ahead.

Via â€" Phonearena & Techkiddy

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Court finds that Samsung did not willfully infringe Apple’s patents

Court finds that Samsung did not willfully infringe Apple’s patents

Remember that trial that dragged on interminably this Summer? I know it seems like they all do that. This one was memorable for a variety of reasons not the least of which was the fact that at the end of it all Samsung was on the hook to pay Apple $ 1.049 billion.

You may not have realized that despite the trial ending in August things have still not been completely settled in this matter. When last we tuned in the judge had agreed to hear juror misconduct arguments which were subsequently dismissed. Well one of the largest remaining pieces was finally taken off the board by Judge Lucy Koh today as she ruled that Samsung’s infringement of Apple’s patents was not willful as the jury had claimed.

Had Judge Koh agreed with the jury that Samsung was willful in their infringement the original judgment could have increased up to triple the original amount. So while it’s hard to deem only having to pay the original $ 1.049 billion a victory there is little doubt that Samsung’s lawyers and executives are breathing a touch easier. Judge Koh could in fact still reduce the amount that Samsung must pay, but there is nothing in todays ruling regarding that possibility.

As always we are infinitely more excited to hear about the next device rather than the next ruling from the court so futile though it might be here’s hoping this is the last we hear of Apple vs. Samsung.

Posted by at No comments:

Samsung Galaxy Express going International

Samsung Galaxy Express going International

Samsung usually announces its mid ranged smartphones this time of the year, right before the big guns start rolling out. This year it is going to make Samsung Galaxy Express available globally. The Samsung Galaxy Express was released last year under the banner of AT&T and was received quite well. Not Samsung is looking to broaden the availability range and is going to release it, along its 4G LTE connectivity, for the rest of the world.

The Samsung Galaxy Express is a 4.5 inch smartphone, which is neither the Galaxy S3 nor the Galaxy S3 Mini, it is somewhere in between. The smartphone does however has a striking resemblance to the Galaxy S3, almost the same designing and layout. The 4.5 inch screen comes at WVGA resolution but is a super AMOLED plus display, making it a tab bit more attractive than the recently released Galaxy S3 Mini.

The Samsung Galaxy Express will come with a 1.2 GHz dual core processor; we are guessing that it will be made by Samsung under the banner of Exynos. 1 GB or RAM will keep the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean running smoothly, TouchWiz will also be layered upon the vanilla OS. The Samsung Galaxy Express has a 5 MP rear facing camera and a 1.3 MP front shooter. The smartphone will also have 8 GB of on board storage, which thankfully can be upgraded via a microSD card. The device will be powered by a very reasonable 2000 mAh battery. The battery will do fairly well, especially considering the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Express.

Samsung has yet to disclose its release plans for the Samsung Galaxy Express, but we are sure that it will be hitting the European markets really soon. A mid ranged 4G LTE enabled smartphone with respectable specs is very rare to find these days and we hope that the Samsung Galaxy Express will fill the hole. We will update you when Samsung has something more to share with us.

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , ,

Posted by at 1 comment:

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Zombie Road Trip zooms on to Google Play

Zombie Road Trip zooms on to Google Play

Cars vs. Zombies… been there, done that. Spokko & Noodlecake Studios are looking to prove me wrong on that statement with their newest Android game Zombie Road Trip. Yup, it’s another zombie tale full of vehicles, but there’s a bit more to it than your average zombie smashing game.

Zombie Road Trip puts you behind the wheel of a vehicle and puts your skills to the test trying to stay ahead of an unrelenting zombie horde. The car drives itself, but you’ll have to flip and shoot your way through some tricky terrain if you’re going to make it to the next city. The controls are super simple as you just need to control the vehicles rotation during flips, and if you need to shoot something out of the way you simply need to tap the screen. By the numbers Zombie Road Trip offers up 5 different landscapes to run through, 11 vehicles, 5 weapons, and 5 add-ons. The terrain is randomized as well so you should never get the same experience twice.

I got to spend a little time with Zombie Road Trip this afternoon and looks like we have another fine release from Noodlecake Studios. The game is a blast to play and there are many interesting ways to take down the undead. I’ll have to admit it was pretty damned cool the first time I did a decapitation flip to take out a zombie and I’m looking forward to seeing what surprises lie ahead. Zombie Road Trip is a great game that’s well worth a look and you can pick it up for free on Google Play.

Zombie Road Trip

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Android continues to dominate globally, reaches 70 percent marketshare in 2012

Android continues to dominate globally, reaches 70 percent marketshare in 2012

If you had any doubts about Android’s dominate position in the marketplace over the last year, you can put them to bed now. According to a new report out of Strategy Analytics, 152.1 million Android phones were shipped in Q4 of 2012 alone last year, leaving Android with a whopping 70 percent global marketshare.

The race for domination in the US may be a bit more evenly split, but across the globe, Android is crushing the competition. Globally, in the fourth quarter of last year, Android managed to double the amount of devices shipped, to 152.1 million from 80.6 million in 2011. Meanwhile iOS saw modest gains, with 47.8 million units shipped up from 37.0, but failed to top out at even one third of Android’s marketshare. Every other platform barely registered. Symbian, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Bada struggled to hit 7.9 percent marketshare.

This year doesn’t necessarily look to be easy for Android, but the groundwork is already being laid for another record smashing year. Google is working harder than ever to promote and improve upon not only the services and individual products that make up Android, but their own Nexus line of devices as well. Manufactures also remain committed to Android, with phones like the Galaxy S IV promising to smash records of its own.

Here’s to a great year, Android. Keep up the good work.

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, January 28, 2013

Herocraft releases Western themed Puzzler in Jail Run Puzzle for Android

Herocraft releases Western themed Puzzler in Jail Run Puzzle for Android

What do dungeons, cowboys and treasure have in common? Absolutely nothing… unless you’re playing Jail Run Puzzle from Herocraft. The groups latest release has you strap on your spurs and hunt for treasure in some very puzzling levels.Jail Run Puzzle for Android

Jail Run Puzzle is a puzzle game in the vein of Quell where you’ll try to move an object to the exit by through sliding it. The object in this case is a cowboy from the old west, but you’ll have to be careful where you slide him as the levels of Jail Run Puzzle are full of dangers. The levels start out easy enough, but before long you’ll have to set off barrels of dynamite and flip levers while attempting to avoid moving spikes and stationary cacti. You’ll also want to “try” to grab the stars you see on every level if you’re going to shoot for the perfect 3-star finish.

I got to spend a little time with Jail Run Puzzle this morning and have to admit it’s a cool little sliding puzzler that’s pretty darned tricky. I’m on level 10 right now and there appears to be 21 levels in the first level pack with two more level packs to go. I’m only on the first level pack, but there appears to be around 60 levels in all. There are ads in the game (not during gameplay), but they can be removed through buying “steps” via the IAP setup. If you want to give it a go you can pick up Boolba Labs & Herocraft’s Jail Run Puzzle for free on Google Play.

Jail Run Puzzle

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

A&E’s Ice Road Truckers Game slides on to Google Play

A&E’s Ice Road Truckers Game slides on to Google Play

A&E has some great shows and if you’re a fan of Ice Road Truckers you’re in for a treat. A few days back Ice Road Truckers the game hit Google Play and now you can hit the ice with Hugh, Lisa, and Alex.

The Ice Road Truckers game puts you behind the wheel of a big rig and onto the icy roads. It’s an endless driving game of sorts where your only goal is to keep the truck in one piece while seeing how long you can drive. You’ll also want to try and snag any coins you find along the way for use in the Truck Store. The gameplay is simple as you just need to tap on the left or right sides of the screen to steer; holding both sides of the screen gives you a turbo boost which you’ll need if you want to clear the big jumps. In the extras department Ice Road Truckers offers up three unlockable characters to go along with a few power-ups and single use items.

Ice Road Truckers is a slick looking game that fans of the show should enjoy for some quick fun. That being said, I don’t feel like casual gamers are going to really dig this one as there isn’t much depth and there’s no demo that lets you try before you buy. If you’re a fan of the show or just want to drive a truck around on some ice you can pick up A&E’s Ice Road Truckers on Google Play for $ 0.99.

Ice Road Truckers

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Google’s Q4 revenue tops $14 billion, profits at $2.9 billion

Google’s Q4 revenue tops $14 billion, profits at $2.9 billion

Google has just announced their quarterly earnings for Q4 2012, and the numbers look strong.

Total revenue for Q4 2012 came in at an impressive $ 14.4 billion, up 36% over Q4 2011. Net income didn’t see the same growth, but is still on the rise. Profits for Q4 2011 totaled $ 2.71 billion, while Q4 2012 came in at $ 2.89 billion.

Motorola Mobile brought in a total of $ 1.5 billion in revenue, but operating loss for the quarter is at $ 353 million, or -23% of revenues.

As for how Google’s revenue breaks down, advertising is still their money-maker. Google owned sites generated 67% of revenue, partner sites generated 27%, and 6% was attributed to “other revenues.”

For a more detailed breakdown of today’s earnings report, Google has a web-page with all the information you could possibly need.

Posted by at No comments:

Full Fat releases NFL Quarterback 13 for Android

Full Fat releases NFL Quarterback 13 for Android

It’s 2013 and Full Fat has released their first sports title of the year with NFL Quarterback 13 for Android. Yup, it’s another “flick” game and if you’re a football fan it looks to be a game you won’t want to miss.

NFL Quarterback 13 lets you step onto the field as the one position we all wanted to play growing up (and still do) the Quarterback. NFL Quarterback 13 lets you test your skills on the field as you try to hit your receivers and avoid the big sack. If you played last year’s version of the game you should have no trouble getting right down to business with the 2013 edition although there have been some new additions to the game this time around. For starters the game looks a lot better than last year’s version which is saying something as last years was pretty slick. The next thing you’ll notice is with the receiver setup which is a bit different, but cool and works well to freshen up the game. Unfortunately that’s where the good news ends as Full Fat has filled NFL Quarterback 13 full boosts and upgrades which means there’s a lot more IAP’s to deal with. Usually not that big of a deal, but considering it’s a “paid game” it’s not a cool thing to do and is likely to irritate your fan base.

NFL Quarterback 13 is a great looking quarterback game that’s good for some quick fun on your mobile, but the in-app purchasing has hurts things. I enjoyed their last football game and was hoping the 2013 edition would up the ante, unfortunately I don’t feel like it’s enough of an upgrade to warrant a purchase especially when you take into account the IAP setup. If you still want to give it a try you can pick up Full Fat’s NFL Quarterback 13 for $ 2.24 on Google Play.

Full Fat

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Kill Hordes of Zombies in Call of Mini Brawlers for Android

Kill Hordes of Zombies in Call of Mini Brawlers for Android

We’ve covered most of Triniti Interactive’s Call of Mini games, and today they’ve released another one by the name of Call of Mini Brawlers. If you’re ready to slice up some Zombies keep reading as Call of Mini Brawlers is a bit different from the group’s previous games.call of mini brawlers

Call of Mini Brawlers takes place after a leak at a nuclear power plant. Anyone who knows their horror movies knows this is a recipe for disaster and it’s no different in the game as the leak has caused town residents to become Zombies who are after your brain. The previous Call of Mini games were dual-stick shooters whereas Brawlers is a side-scrolling shootem’ up. The controls are simple as you have your forward and back arrows for movement to go along with the melee and weapons button. The levels have a cool look as well; even though the game has a different layout the levels look just as slick as they do in the other Call of Mini games.

I haven’t had much time to play Call of Mini Brawlers yet, but so far it’s been a blast… literally. You’re going to see a lot of zombie brains as you slice and shoot your way through the levels and you’re going to have a lot of fun doing it. If you enjoyed the previous games in the series or are just looking for a new Zombie shooter it’s a game definitely worth checking out. You can pick up Triniti Interactive’s Call of Mini Brawlers for free on Google Play.

Call of Mini: Brawlers

Triniti Interactive

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

CyanogenMod 10.1 Milestone 1 available for select devices

CyanogenMod 10.1 Milestone 1 available for select devices

When it comes to alternative software for your Android device, CyanogenMod is still the cream of the crop. Over the weekend, the first semi-stable builds of CyanogenMod 10.1 were made available for select devices, giving us an idea of just how far CyanogenMod 10.1 is into development.

With the release of CyanogenMod 10.1 Milestone 1, we can see that development on CM 10.1 is progressing nicely. Depending on how well the initial batch of “M-Series” releases go, a stable build could be right around the corner. CyanogenMod is generally released in four stages, with Milestones intended to be mid-development stable builds. The first M-Series release of CM 10.1 is available for the Nexus 4, 7, 10 and S, as well as the Galaxy Nexus and a handful of other Samsung devices.

If you’re not familiar with CyanogenMod, CyanogenMod 10.1 is based on the latest version of Jelly Bean, Android 4.2.1. It’s built using only the source code for Android, and features a handful of nonintrusive customization and optimization options giving users full control over their device.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on the progress of CyanogenMod 10.1. If you’re interested in seeing if your device has a CyanogenMod builds of its own, visit get.cm. For those of you already in the know, what ROM are you running?

Posted by at No comments:

Huawei Ascend P2 shaping up to be a Beast of a Phone

Huawei Ascend P2 shaping up to be a Beast of a Phone

Just like HTC did a few years back, Huawei is looking to leave the backseat and take control of the smartphone side of its business. It weapon of choice is none other than the Huawei Ascend P2, and judging by the looks of it is a potent one. The smartphone has it all; well at least on the paper it is a strong contender of smartphone supremacy. The Chinese company may have a golden goose on its hands, as the Huawei Ascend P2 is shaping up to be on hell of a smartphone. Huawei is making rapid strides in the business with its devices but it is far from gaining the trust of the western audiences, Huawei Ascend P2 if it turns out to be as the leaks are suggesting, may sway the general opinion.

The Huawei Ascend P2 is a successor to the mildly well received P1 and is improving upon the similar formula. The leaked image shows a beautiful looking device, which to be honest is strongly resembling some Sony branded handsets. The design is very sleek and stylish though, but it’s the thickness which is stealing the show. The smartphone is looking remarkably thin in the image. The chassis appears to be built from plastic, not the bad shiny one either. The front of the smartphone is void of any physical buttons and the screen is truly taking advantage of that by being very close to the bottom. This is something many major manufactures can learn.

The Huawei Ascend P2 is rumored to be operating a homebrew quad core processor which will be running at 1.8 GHz. The smartphone will have a 4.5 inch full high definition 1080p screen, 2 GB worth of RAM and a 13 megapixel rear facing camera. The thin smartphone will also have a beastly 3000 mAh battery, which is amazing because the handset is looking wafer thin. We will be keeping tabs on this one though, especially it comes with the usual affordable price tag associated with Chinese devices.

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

HTC Desire U headed to Taiwan

HTC Desire U headed to Taiwan

Usually the budget devices don’t get the fancy “extravagant” treatment the expensive ones do. As is the case with HTC Desire U, recently HTC has released a spec sheet for the new smartphone which is being targeted towards Taiwanese market. The cleverly named HTC Desire U (HTC Desire YOU), might be a medium range phone, but it does not look the part.

HTC Desire U is potentially a very elegant cross between HTC’s top tier “One” series and the “desire” series. The smartphone features a rather bold back design too, it’s kind of the love it or hate it one. As for me the rippling circles are doing a fine job. The plastic smooth body with the strategically placed circles do look hypnotizing and. The front of the HTC Desire U is the same ol same ol one, with HTC’s staple on screen buttons. That may be a problem as the HTC Desire U has an already smaller screen, the screen space hogging buttons may be a turn off for many.

Even though the HTC Desire U looks like a top end smartphone, the internals are a stark contrast. A 1 GHz single core processor, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB of internal storage memory makes it rather less desirable for those who were looking for a small beast. The 4 inch WVGA screen supports a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. HTC Desire U also houses a respectable 1650 mAh battery which will be able to provide a nice run time, especially with the low end specs.

Not many will be looking forward to import the HTC Desire U, even if it desires you. But we are certain that the smartphone will serve well in the intended market, especially with a price tag of around $ 275. We will update if HTC decides to release this on other regions as well.

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Friday, January 25, 2013

Above the Clouds releases Humm Together for Android

Above the Clouds releases Humm Together for Android

If you dig social guessing games there’s a new one out you’re going to want to pay attention to. Humm Together from Above the Clouds is the latest guessing game to try its hand at the “Draw Something” style of play, but there’s no drawing involved in this one… only humming.

Humm Together has the same simple setup as Draw Something where you can go in and get in random games, invite people via Facebook, etc..etc… Once you find a partner you’re given a category and you get to choose a song. The idea is to humm the song or use la-la’s, basically anything but actual singing. If you guess your opponents song correctly you get stars as do they guess yours. As for the categories there are around 45 genres set across 4 languages with the majority being English and Russian. The actual genres run the gambit from Pop to 80s rock and Soundtracks. You start out with Pop, but can unlock more genres with stars earned in the game or bought from the shop.

Humm Together is a great game, and this is coming from a guy that can’t stand the sound of his own voice on an answering machine. I played a couple of rounds randomly and couldn’t help but grin listening to how ridiculous I sounded humming and lala’ing my way through some popular tunes. The interface is also a breeze to use, and I had no issues with the game or with finding someone to Humm against. Above the Clouds did a great job with the game, and it should be a big hit. There’s a fully functional free version of Humm Together you can check out or you can pick up the Pro version for $ 0.99.

Humm Together

Above the Clouds

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Is Google experimenting with building a wireless network?

Is Google experimenting with building a wireless network?

Google is not afraid to be disruptive. They’ve proved it time and time again with services like Google Voice, software like Android and most recently, with Google Fiber; Google’s experiment in being an Internet and television provider that threatens to turn an entire industry on its head. So what’s next? How about a wireless network?

Something is going on in Mountain View. According to a handful of FCC filings, Google is looking to test 50 base stations using 200 devices on what appears to be a wireless LTE network operating on 2524-2546 and 2567-2625 MHz bands[1]. Some sort of proprietary network for Google employees isn’t out of the question, and Google experimenting with wireless technology is nothing new, but a few too many things have perfectly aligned surrounding Google’s mystery network that could point to it being more than what it appears.

The bands being used for the network are those of Clearwire’s. That wouldn’t be a big deal, if it weren’t for Dish’s attempts at purchasing Clearwire, and recent rumors that Google may be forming a partnership with Dish to start a wireless network. But that’s not all. Even if you ignored the fact that Google is using wireless spectrum that has to be licensed instead of spectrum that doesn’t, and that it’s spectrum that has been tied to recent rumors that Google is looking to start it’s own wireless network, they want to keep the entire thing as quiet as possible.

When requesting to have certain parts of the filings redacted, Google’s lawyers offered up a reasonable explanation: “The information for which confidential treatment is sought concerns the highly competitive consumer electronics market.” That doesn’t sound like a test or another experiment, it sounds like Google is working on something big. This could shape up to be one crazy year.

Posted by at No comments:

Help a stranded Astronaut make it Home in New Orbit Episode 1 for Android

Help a stranded Astronaut make it Home in New Orbit Episode 1 for Android

2012 may be over, but there are still plenty of Android Games to cover that we’ve missed. New Orbit Episode 1 from Blackish is one such game, and it’s got one of the best storylines we’ve seen on in a mobile game in quite some time.New Orbit Episode 1

New Orbit Episode 1 is a tale of gravity and loneliness. Earth has been wiped out and you are alone, drifting through space with no clue as to where you are or where you’re going. Your map’s are offline, your fuel is low, and your ship has definitely seen better days. Your only friend is your ships computer and with its help you’re going to try and escape the hostile Triterian sector and make it back home. To do this you’ll have to repair your ship, get fuel and master gravitational pull. I don’t want to give everything away, but I will tell you that you’re going to deal with some quirky space travelers and you’ll even get to do a bit of asteroid mining.

New Orbit Episode 1 is an interesting game as it’s more about the journey that the actual gameplay. The voice acting is very well done and works well to draw you into the story and the whole gravity dynamic is really a blast to toy with once you get the hang of things. I sat down expecting to give it a quick play, but ended up playing halfway through the game before even glancing at a clock. As the title implies New Orbit â€" Episode 1 is only the first part of the game, and while we’re not sure when part 2 will drop I am really looking forward to it. If you’re looking for something different I highly recommend checking out New Orbit Episode 1. You can pick it up  for only $ 0.99 on Google Play.

New Orbit Episode 1

Blackish Games

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Swing Around and Fight Chickens in Super Knights for Android

Swing Around and Fight Chickens in Super Knights for Android

Super Knight Chillingo

Chillingo has put out some great games over the past few months and their latest goes by the name of Super Knights. It’s a tale of knights, princesses, and giant thieving chickens…super knights for android

Super Knights is one of those games that throws you into the fire without much explanation. It’s not a bad thing in this case as the first time you pull off a successful rope swing and get a Fiesta you’ll be hooked. Each stage has a number of anchor points and you can latch onto one by tapping a button on the screen. There are gems scattered around each anchor point and you’ll want to loop around to pick them up before released and grabbing on to the next anchor. Pretty basic actually, but that’s the last time you’ll hear my use the word “basic” when describing Super Knights.

Your night mainly gets about by swinging, but you can also bounce him off of walls or off the ground. He’s pretty tough. He also rides a huge flying chicken of sorts to get from one level to the next, and as awesome as he sounds he’s not indestructible. I have yet to figure out exactly what’s killing my knight, but I think it comes from the sky due to the big red looking arrow shape that hangs over my head before I lose a life. Did I mention that there are Princesses trapped in cages in most levels? Well there are, and you’ll also see swarms of jewel thieving chickens appear towards the end of each level. I believe there’s someone peering out of castle windows as well, but I’ve yet to get a good look at them.super knights for android

Super Knights is truly a blast to play, and I’m glad Dancing Dots Studio and Chillingo put the game out there for folks to enjoy. I’ve only made it to the 5th castle and past the first set of challenges so while I’m not sure how deep the game is, I’m looking forward to finding out. Check back next week for a full review, until then I highly advise you to head on over to Google Play where you can pick up Super Knights for free.

Super Knights

Chillingo

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Galaxy Grand comes to Korea with a Quad Core CPU

Galaxy Grand comes to Korea with a Quad Core CPU

Even though the Galaxy Grand was announced officially by Samsung over a month ago, we were still missing a great deal of detail about the smartphone. The 5 inched Galaxy Grand was certainly an intriguing device, but the pricing was an important issue for many of us. Other than that we were not sure that the Galaxy Grand will be available in our region or not. Well to be honest we are still in the air regarding many of the things, and yet some have gotten clear.

The Galaxy Grand is looking like a much more lucrative device than we initially thought. The Galaxy Grand will me more attractive in its homeland though, as Samsung is treating its national fans with a little bit of extra “grandness” in the Galaxy Grand. The smartphone is going to start shipping though the 3 major carriers (KT, LG U+ and SKT) any day now, which is great news for the Koreans.

Apart from the near launch date, the Galaxy Grand will have a very amazing price for a device of its stature. It will be going for 3500,000 won off contract. This makes it around €246 or $ 328, a price which is a lot lower than we expected and almost half the price of Galaxy Note 2. That is not all though, the Korean version of Galaxy Grand will contain a 1.4 GHz quad core processor instead of the 1.2 GHz dual core one seen in Indian and Ukrainian versions.

The 5 inched Galaxy Grand will not support Dual SIM, in Korea though. It will still come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, NFC, 8 mega pixel camera, 1 GB RAM, 2100 mAh batter and a microSD card slot. Well the Galaxy Grand is turning out to be a well-shaped Galaxy Note 2 replacement, at least in Korea. We will be happy to know if and when we can see it shipping to our (US and UK) shores though.

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Siri was almost a Verizon Android exclusive

Siri was almost a Verizon Android exclusive

Of all the features to be introduced alongside new versions of iOS, the iPhone and iPad in the last several years, Siri is easily the most ambitious. Siri is the future of how Apple sees its customers interacting with Apple devices â€" their official stake in the voice-enabled virtual assistant craze. And it almost never happened.

The Huffington Post is running a story covering the past, present and future of Siri, sharing some interesting facts on the AI personality, including one that’s particularly relevant to Android users. According to the HuffPost, before Apple absorbed the company behind Siri, Verizon had reached a deal to make the virtual assistant a Droid exclusive. In other words, Siri was originally destined for Android. Verizon went as far as shooting commercials centered around Siri before the deal was later canceled.

If Apple had never bought Siri, would Google have ever felt compelled to release Google Now? Would Siri have been a multi-platform virtual assistant, lost among the Evas, Robins, Jennies, Hals and S-Voices of the world? We’ll never know the answer to those questions, and it’s all for the best. Much like the platforms they run on, Siri and Google Now push each other to become better products. Google Now may trump Siri in terms of usefulness and functionality right now, but it may not always be that way. Who know what the future of smartphone interaction holds? I can tell you one thing, it doesn’t hold the Verizon Motorola Droid 7 with Siri+. Right now, it feels like Android users really dodged the bullet on that one.

I’ll never get tired of this video; skip to 3:15 for the good stuff.

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Make Push Notifications useful with PushBullet for Android

Make Push Notifications useful with PushBullet for Android

Android Games that use Push Notifications are generally disliked and with good reason. PushBullet is a new Android App that’s looking to change the way you feel about those annoying notifications as it allows you to push important info to your phone in just a few simple steps.

I transfer a slew of things from my PC to my phone on a daily basis, and due to my current setup it’s always via the USB Cable which can be a pain at times. Emailing yourself info is one way to cut the cable, but using an app like PushBullet is so much easier. PushBullet “pushes” important information from your computer to your phone including lists, notes, addresses, files and links. It’s a super simple app to use as well; you just need to download the app, link up an email account, and then log in to the PushBullet website to start sending.  Simple, quick, and easy.

I’ve been using PushBullet for several days now and really love the app. It does almost everything I want it to (extensions), and it does it flawlessly. I really can’t tell you how handy this is if you for sending small files to the phone, and the list function is extremely useful as well. I also like the way the address setup works with Maps; as you can see from the screenshot I had no problem finding Jack Torrance at the Overlook Hotel. Well technically it’s The Stanley (extremely ironic) but you get the drift. Needless to say, PushBullet is an excellent Android App and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here. You can pick up Pu shBullet for free on Google Play.

PushBullet

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Behind the Cube: Day 78 with 22cans Curiosity

Behind the Cube: Day 78 with 22cans Curiosity

A few weeks have passed which means it’s time to check back in on that curious little thing known as 22cans Curiosity. We are now on Day 78 and seventeen layers have been removed since our last update.

So what’s gone on around the Cube in the past few weeks? More or the same; there are still a lot of folks tapping and there still seems to be a slight bit of a decline in usage from what I can tell.  I still get a kick out of seeing little explosions on the cube, and more often than not I’ve found myself simply wondering about looking at what other people have tapped out on the cube. They may not last long, but you can find some interesting stuff if you browse long enough.

No exciting screenshots this week unfortunately as I forgot to back them up when I switched phones out this week. Something I did miss in the last update is the fact that Curiosity got hit by hackers in late December. Needless to say they didn’t get in, but it’s interesting to hear what peter Molyneux’s says. It’s also intriguing to hear they have considered telling people how long they’ve got left until they get to the center of the cube.

Are we any closer to learning the secret inside the cube? Nope, not by a long shot. Do I believe the answer to life, the universe, and everything is inside Curiosity? No, because we already know the answer to that question is 42… duh. As long as I’m tapping I’ll keep updating, and we’ll be back in a few more weeks with a fresh round of pictures and another edition of Behind the Cube.

Curiosity

22cans

Filed Under: Articles

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
//PART 2